In recent years, an analysis/estimation upon the material structures with applying the X-ray therein, not limited to the conventional wide angle X-ray diffraction upon the crystalline structures, comes to be utilized, widely, for example, soft materials and biomaterials, including liquid samples therein, and further thin film-like material, etc., and in that case, there are many cases of using a small angle X-ray scattering apparatus for measuring the small angle X-ray scattering.
In general, for such the small angle X-ray scattering apparatus, it is common to adopt or employ, so-called the vertical structure, i.e., disposing an X-ray source, a slit or a pin-hole, a sample, a vacuum X-ray path, a two-dimensional X-ray detector, etc., in the horizontal direction, and for example, in the following Patent Document 1 is already known that having such the vertical structures, in relation to the small angle X-ray scattering apparatus, targeting the liquid samples or the like. Thus, the X-ray in the vertical direction from the X-ray source, which is provided on a bottom portion of the apparatus, irradiates upon the sample disposed in the horizontal direction, perpendicularly (at the right angle), after passing through the vacuum X-ray path disposed in an upper portion of that sample, reaches to the two-dimensional X-ray detector to be detected.
Further, though differing from such small angle X-ray scattering apparatus, but for example, in the following Patent Document 2 is already known an apparatus for analyzing/estimating the crystalline structures of proteins, wherein a large number of crystallization plates are formed within a sample holder, which is made up with a X-ray permeable material, and X-ray is irradiated from above or below upon the crystal of the proteins produced within those crystallization plates, and thereby to detect the X-ray diffracted thereon. By the way, within such the crystal estimation apparatus as already known by this Patent Document 1 is adapted such structures for rotating the X-ray irradiation means and the X-ray detection means thereof with respect to the sample holder, so as to obtain an integrated intensity of the X-ray diffracted upon the crystalline sample, but without rotating that sample holder, i.e., to obtain peak intensities from plural numbers of cross-sections, with respect to the X-rays reflected upon the crystals of the protein distributing in a spherical manner.
And, but also different from the small angle X-ray scattering apparatus, for example, in the following Patent Document 3 is already known the Lang's camera, wherein an X-ray source, a sample (e.g., a large-sized single-crystal wafer), and an X-ray exposure body (i.e., a fluorescent plate) are disposed, sequentially, from an upper position, into the vertical direction, for the purpose of achieving easy loading/unloading of the large-sized single-crystal wafer, as a measuring object, and also easy setting job thereof, and is equipped with a sample stage that can move, linearly and reciprocally, in the horizontal direction while holding the sample and the fluorescent plate as a unit, in the horizontal direction. Further, in this Lang's camera is provided, so-called, a rotation arm being equipped with the X-ray source, including an X-ray tube in a tip portion thereof, for the purpose of enabling θ rotation thereof.
Patent Document 1: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0223586 A1;
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-20397 (2004); and
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 07-140096 (1995).